Celebrations are taking place today (May 23) at St Michael’s Care Home in Westgate to mark the 100th birthday of Sister Veronica Howell.
Born in the British Hospital in Woolwich on 23rd May 1924, Veronica was the eldest of six girls in a family that loved to sing, the one thing she still enjoys most now.
She completed teacher training In Liverpool and then , during the war, she trained for noviciate in southeast London and officially became a nun in 1944. She will therefore also be celebrating 80 years of religious life this year.
Sister Veronica moved to Westgate in the 2000s and was a headteacher in Kent.
She worked in the Catholic Information Service and was involved in the planning of Pope John Paul II’s visit to the UK. She also worked on promoting the religious vocations work and was involved in pastoral work in many parishes where they had communities and was affectionately known as Aunty Wonk!
Sr Veronica has been a resident at St Michaels since May 2021 and loves the singers that come in and even more so, the schoolchildren who visit to sing carols over the Christmas period. She also enjoys a glass of red wine.
Her life advice that she still lives by is “Do what you can do and do it as well as you can do it. The rest you leave to providence and trust that they can do it as well as you can.”
Staff and residents are enjoying a 100th celebration party today to mark the milestone occasion.
